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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · land · wake · object · saw · shower · cap · content

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. fall — to drop
  3. land — to come down
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — a hat
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. land — a country
  13. shower — rain
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cap — of ice
  16. object — a thing
  17. shower — to wash
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. object — to protest
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. content — happy
  24. land — ground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com